Mystery on The Albatross
by mpspenguin
Summary: Giovanni sends Jessie, James and Meowth along with a whole team of Rocket agents on a mission that is a revised version of the Anne plan, on a boat named The Albatross; But things don't always go as smoothly as hoped, as the trio soon find out- ... Rated T for being dark in places, and minor swearing- Please review, and let me know if you want more! :)
1. Chapter 1

A trip to Team Rocket headquarters was nearly always something to be dreaded. Giovanni only ever called Jessie, James and Meowth to HQ for two reasons: to shout at them for being incompetent idiots, or to assign them to a new region. So, when the trio of Rockets had received an invitation to a meeting at headquarters announcing the details of an important mission, the three had been ecstatic.

"I can't believe it!" James said happily as they landed the Meowth balloon. "We never get invited to these kind of things anymore!"

"Tell me about it," Meowth sighed, looking warily over at the towering building before them. "It feels too good to be true, and I don't like it."

"Oh cheer up, cat!" Jessie snapped, and broke into a smile. "This is our chance to show the boss what we're capable of!"

"What, consistent failure?" Meowth muttered sarcastically, quietly enough so the two humans couldn't hear him. Despite his pessimism, Meowth couldn't help but feel a little excited. It had been far too long since he'd been on a mission that didn't involve Ash and his gang of twerps.

"IDs?" a Team Rocket grunt asked, holding out his hand as the three Rockets neared the entrance. Jessie and James fumbled around in their pockets, and produced two IDs. The grunt swiped them through a machine on the wall, which flashed green and made a cheerful beeping sound. He couldn't help but smirk as he handed the IDs back to them.

"The infamous Jessie and James, huh? What did you do this time? Get pumelled by that little kid and his rat again?"

"Hey! Watch it, buster!" Jessie snarled, clenching her fists and stepping towards him menacingly. "We have been invited to attend a highly important meeting regarding an upcoming mission," she said proudly, reciting from the letter she'd read enough times to memorise.

"Seriously? The boss wants you three on the mission?" the grunt enquired.

"Shut it!" Jessie warned. "Can you only ask questions, or something? Now move aside!"

She pushed past him and into the building, James and Meowth following her a little more cautiously.

The reception of the headquarters was impressive enough, with gleaming white tiles that mirrored any movement above layering the floor and a huge red "R" hanging above the desk that Wendy sat behind. A board hung on one wall honouring the "Rockets of the month", displaying pictures of Butch and Cassidy, as per usual.

"Hey Wendy," Jessie greeted casually as she walked past with her two team mates and stepped through an automatic door into the hallway. Wendy clenched her fists and exhaled through her nostrils angrily.

"She never paid me back for that smoothie," Wendy growled to herself, and reluctantly, returned to typing mindlessly at the computer in front of her.

* * *

Dozens and dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on Jessie and James as they tried in vain to slip into the room unnoticed. The meeting had clearly already started, and the fact that they were the only ones wearing a white uniform didn't exactly help them to blend in.

Giovanni sat with his back turned to the Rockets, the usual air of mystery about him. He never personally spoke to agents face to face unless it was something important, so, Jessie reasoned that the mission must be pretty big.

"Sorry," James mumbled sheepishly as they squeezed into their seats between several Rockets, who were glaring at them. Whispers and muffled laughter rang through the room, making the trio blush as Giovanni spun around in his chair to face the room full of people. Meowth flinched slightly at the Persian Giovanni was petting fondly on his lap, resisting the urge to hiss and stopping himself from sliding out his claws.

"Good. Now that we're all here," Giovanni started, aiming this remark at Jessie and James, "I'll tell you all about the mission. I expect you're all curious about it, so I'll cut to the chase."

He paused in though for a moment, stoking the Persian, and sighed. "Most of you have been members of our organisation long enough to remember the... _Incident,_ on the St. Anne a few months back."

Several Rockets shifted uncomfortably, including Jessie and James, remembering how the mission had been screwed up completely.

"The mission very nearly succeeded," Giovanni continued, "and I believe the plan was dismissed as useless too quickly. Therefore, this mission will be very similar.

"Each one of you will be disguised as staff on a cruise ship that is setting sail tomorrow. There will be some real staff on board too, but I was able to... _Take care _of most of them."

At the shocked silence that followed, Giovanni quickly corrected himself, realising he'd phrased it wrong. "Not killed- bribed, we bribed the staff to let us take their places! Sheesh," he muttered to himself at the horrified looks on the faces of his employees. They should know well enough by now that he didn't go around killing anyone that stood in his way as some organisations did. That wasn't his style- it was too easy.

"Anyway," he breathed, his usual tone returning. "The ship can hold hundreds of passengers, and _that_ means hundreds of Pokemon. Pokemon for us to steal. This time, we won't fail. We have more than doubled the number of agents sent out, and ironed out the previous flaws in the plan. The ship leaves tomorrow at nine- you'll travel there by coach in the morning. Good luck."

* * *

After leaving the brief meeting, Jessie, James and Meowth sat in their old room, flicking through the mission briefing they'd been given.

"This sounds exactly like the St. Anne mission..." James said nervously, turning a page.

"Well, it's not," Jessie snapped. "You heard the boss- improvements have been made! And besides, the twerps won't be on board to intefere this time. I hear they're at some festival, or something."

Before James or Meowth could reply, the door to the room swung open, catching the attention of the trio.

"James! Miss Jessie!" the young teenage Rocket in the doorway greeted, beaming.

"Mondo!" Jessie, James and Meowth exclaimed happily**. (Mondo appears once in the radio drama "**_**It's a White Tomorrow!" **_**for those who don't know him. He's basically Jessie and James' assistant.)**

"Where've ya been, kid?" Meowth asked as Jessie motioned for Mondo to come in.

"Eh- mainly doing deliveries and taking messenges to agents," Mondo said, sitting down next to the older Rockets. He wore the same white uniform as Jessie and James, which hung off his small body a little loosely. Mondo was one of the youngest members of Team Rocket at fourteen, and, despite his career choice, looked as innocent as any other kid his age.

"But now I get to go on my first mission! The boss said I could help you guys," Mondo announced proudly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Congrats!" James replied, setting aside the briefing.

"About time! We've missed your help," Jessie said, smiling. "Have you read the briefing?"

"Yeah, loads! It sounds so cool!"

James hoped for Mondo's sake that the mission went well. Failing his first mission might upset him, and James knew from experience that Mondo was what you'd call sensitive. He wasn't sure what a kid like Mondo was even doing in a place like Team Rocket, but then again, James wasn't exactly your stereotypical villain either.

"You guys up for some grub? I'm starving," Meowth said, jumping up.

"Sure," the three Rockets answered, and followed Meowth back out into the corridor.

* * *

The canteen was bustling with Rockets, from the highest elite agents to grunts and trainees. Most sat at the cheap tables with trays of food, but some stood in their own groups, gossiping or discussing the upcoming mission.

"Her!" Jessie suddenly shrieked, pointing an accusing finger across the room. Mondo, James and Meowth looked over to the area she was pointing at, and saw the source of Jessie's anger.

"Not them," James groaned, sighing as the two familar Rockets spotted Jessie and James and began to make their way over.

"Cassidy," Jessie snarled.

"And Botch!" James remarked, purposely getting the name wrong to tick Butch off. It had the desired effect.

"Grr," Butch growled, clenching his fist. "The name's Butch, you moron! B-U-T-C-H! Butch!" Butch ran his gloved hand through his teal hair. "Why's it so difficult to remember? No one forgets _your_ name..."

"So, Jessie, you finally got a decent mission," Cassidy interrupted, smirking. "Of course, the boss'll have only let you three losers on because half of his team are out on the field."

"Hey! Leave Miss Jessie alone!" Mondo retorted, looking a little pathetic as he stepped protectively in front of Jessie, who blushed.

Butch burst out laughing at the sight of the young teen. "What is this? The Jessie and James fanclub? Look Cassidy, he even has their little outfit!" Butch ruffled Mondo's hair so it stuck up out of place. "Hey kid," he said patronisingly, crouching down so he was at Mondo's height. "Why don't you finish high school first, and then come back, hmm?"

Mondo turned a deep red, scowling.

"Well, _Biff_, I seem to remember you were even younger when you joined," Meowth pointed out. "Thirteen, was it?"

"Phh. At least my voice had broken," Butch retorted, making Mondo redden even more.

Cassidy laughed cruelly, and then glared at Jessie and James. "Alright. So you're on the mission. Just stay out of our way, got it?"

"Gladly," Jessie muttered, folding her arms. "Who'd want to hang out with you losers, anyway?"

Cassidy took a menacing step forwards, but then stopped herself, smiling. "You know what? It's not worth it. I already know how pathetic you three are- who cares what lies you believe?"

Before Jessie could retaliate, Cassidy spun on her heel, and walked away, Butch close behind.

"I _hate_ those two!" Jessie spat, squeezing her hands into fists.

"Me too," Mondo grumbled, his face still burning. "And I'm not a kid! I'm a young adult!" he said defensively, fixing his hair.

"Don't listen to them," James advised. "They talk rubbish all the time."

Nodding, Mondo turned to Meowth, who was coughing for attention.

"Now that we're done chatting, let's get some lunch! That queue's not gettin' any shorter!"

* * *

The following day, the three Rockets were woken up at 5am by an alarm that seemed to run throughout the entire building. Groaning and rubbing her eyes, Jessie sat up in bed, feeling properly rested for the first time in ages. She looked over to her team mates, who were trying to cover their ears to block out the deafening ringing of the alarm.

"Ugh," James said when silence finally fell again. "It's still dark out..."

Meowth burrowed under the duvet on James' bed, mumbling sleepily to himself. James tore the blanket off the bed to get Meowth up, and received a fury swipe across the face for his efforts.

"The cruise ship leaves at nine. Let's change into our disguises quick and get down to the coach. I want to get good seats- last time I was stuck next to Dr. Namba!" Jessie said, shuddering at the memory.

"He's so creepy," James replied, shaking his head. "And when someone gets his name wrong, he just _knows_. I mean, how? It freaks me out."

"Well, hurry up then, because if there's a seat next to him left, I'm sure as hell not gonna be the one who takes it."

* * *

Mondo met Jessie, James and Meowth outside the coach, looking too enthusiastic for someone awake before dawn. While Jessie and James were disguised as waiters, Mondo was dressed as a cleaner, wearing a white T-shirt, jeans and a jacket with "Staff" printed across the back. A plastic badge reading "Brian" was pinned to the front of his shirt.

"Well then, 'Brian'," James grinned, stretching an arm out towards the entrance to the coach. "After you."

The four found seats close to the back, avoiding individuals such as Butch, Cassidy and Namba. Nearly all the other Rockets on the coach were also disguised as waiters, wearing identical blue and red suits with polished black shoes.

"Well, it makes a change from Team Rocket uniform, anyway," Jessie said, struggling to get comfortable in the stiff fabric that had only been taken out of its plastic wrapping under an hour ago.

"What am I meant ta do?" Meowth demanded, looking at the people in disguises around him. "No one gave me a costume..."

"Just act like a normal pokemon, dummy," Jessie sighed, pressing her cheek against the icy window. "And try not to blurt anything out this time."

Mondo was fidgeting in his seat, chewing his lip nervously. "What if I don't know where to go? Or get lost? Or what if it all goes wrong?"

"Calm down, kid," Meowth said reassuringly, patting Mondo gently on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. Just stick with us- we'll show ya the ropes!"

Relaxing a little, Mondo smiled. "Thanks. Sorry- I'm just a little nervous."

"It's understandable," Meowth said, nodding. "I mean, if this thing goes wrong, we're in big trouble! We could all go to jail for-"

Meowth stopped mid-sentence, noticing the horrified look on Mondo's face, and seeing that Jessie and James were shaking their heads frantically and drawing lines across their throats as a signal to stop talking. Swallowing, Meowth rubbed the back of his head, trying to come up with a way to calm Mondo down again.

"Uh, I mean, it won't go wrong. The boss has it all planned out. We've got way more agents than usual on this mission, and me, Jessie and Jim'll be lookin' out for ya."

Mondo nodded a little too quickly, clearly unconvinced. His face had turned paler than usual, and he looked like he might be sick at any moment. Meowth felt a pang of guilt, realising he'd made Mondo even more scared than he'd been before.

"Relax Mondo- you've got elite agents backing you up, remember?" Jessie told Mondo, trying her best to comfort him. "That includes me, so you know for sure you'll be fine!"

A little colour returned to Mondo's face, and he smiled again, though it looked forced. "Thank you, Miss Jessie. I'm sure it'll all go well."

Meowth shrank into his seat as Jessie and James glared at him for being so tactless, and drummed his paw against his knee rhythamically to try and cool his own nerves. If this mission went anything like the St. Anne one had...

Shuddering, Meowth forced himself to fix his eyes on the chair in front of him, determined not to lose his cool. Panicking wouldn't make the mission go any better, but staying level-headed just might.

As the last few agents climbed on board, the engine of the coach rumbled to life, purring softly as the vechile crawled forwards. Most of the other Rockets were chatting happily, clearly not worried about the mission, but James, Jessie, Meowth and Mondo sat in an awward silence, occaisionally attempting small talk which quickly went back to quiet.

"This is ridiculous," Jessie said eventually, the three male Rockets turning to her. "We went on plenty of missions as big or bigger than this one before that twerp and his Pikachu ruined our careers, and we're worrying like it's our first mission. Well, it's reasonable for Mondo to, but we're experienced agents!"

"It's just weird, being back on team missions," James replied, stretching in his seat. "But if anything, I'm looking forward to it. These kind of missions are far more exciting than tailing those kids for months at a time, and I've missed working on a bigger team."

"Ya know what I've missed more than anythin'?" Meowth asked. "Sleepin' in a real bed. I nearly slept on the floor outta habit! But that was the best night's sleep I've had in ages."

Jessie and James nodded in agreement, and then strained to get closer to the window as the coach pulled up onto a parking lot by the sea. Meowth stared at the glistening ocean, mesmerised by the way the light reflected on the shiny water. "We're here," he breathed.


	2. Chapter 2

The cruise ship the mission would take place on was huge- about a short street of houses long, and twice as high. Red paint coated the bottom of the boat, while the rest was white. _The Albatross_ was printed across the side of the ship in clear black lettering. Since it was still early, the sun only just beginning to rise and stain the sky with light, the pier on which the Rockets now stood was empty, although in a few short hours, it would be bustling with people.

"Ok, let's go," a senior Rocket called Kay instructed, straightening her disguise and pulling a few rogue tufts of black hair behind her ears before leading the other agents across the pier and towards the ship. Waves broke against the poles that held the walkway up, spraying water onto the wooden planks and painting them a dark brown.

Sneaking unnoticed onto the Albatross was relatively easy, especially since no one took a second look at the Rockets in their disguises, seeing as they looked identical at a glance to any other member of staff. Rather than moving as a group, which surely would have raised attention, the agents trickled onto the boat in twos and threes, being sure to look busy whenever a legitimate member of staff passed by.

"Hey, kid! You're not going to do much of a job without this!" a manager yelled to Mondo as he walked past with Jessie, James and Meowth. Mondo stopped in his tracks, trying not to show his worry that he'd blow his own cover before the mission had even began as the manager walked over to him, holding a bucket half filled with water, and a mop. "Here," the manager said, handing the cleaning equipment to Mondo. "Start off at the toilets on the top floor, and then go to the dining area."

"Y-yes, sir," Mondo replied shakily, the water in the bucket threatening to spill over in his trembling hand. Frowning, the manager leaned forward to look at Mondo's badge.

"_Oh crap_," Mondo thought, cringing. "_He knows I don't really work here! I'm so screwed!" _

"So, Brian," the manager smiled. "I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?"

"Oh- yes sir, I start today," Mondo answered hastily, hoping he didn't sound as scared as he felt.

"Good- I've been telling the others that we could do with some more cleaners on this ship for ages. Well, see you. Give me a shout if you need any help," the manager said, clearly not thinking that a teenager would sneak onto a ship to work for free.

Mondo breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the manager turned a corner, whistling to himself cheerily. "That was too close..."

"C'mon, Mondo!" Meowth hissed from further down the corridor, after checking that they were alone. "We've got woik to do!"

* * *

While Mondo went up to the toilets with Meowth to keep up the charade of being a janitor, James and Jessie made their way to the lounge.

"_Ten minutes until the passengers board the ship_," a voice from the invisible earpieces that each Rocket wore whispered. "_Remember the plan, and stay incognito until we order the attack."_

As Jessie and James tried to look busy, arranging fancy nibbles onto trays and filling glasses with wine, a jingle rang through the speakers above them, followed by a cheery voice.

"Welcome to _The Albatross_, and thank you for choosing our services," the female voice chirped sickeningly, continuing to state where the exits could be found in case of an emergency. The message replayed several times in a few different languages as passengers began to emerge, already piling into the longue.

"They don't look too tough," Jessie whispered to James, eyeing the passengers. "This'll be a piece of cake."

"I hope so," James replied quietly, staring at his shoes. "Because if this goes at all like the St. Anne mission did, we can kiss our jobs goodbye."

* * *

Looker climbed out of the police van, taking a moment to appreciate the fresh sea air as a gust of wind gently tugged at his hair. Dozens of officers had made their way to the pier that morning, since the annual Sinnoh Police conference was being held in just a few days, and taking _The Albatross _was the quickest- and most comfortable- way of getting there.

"Alright, settle down!" officer Jenny ordered to the enthusiastic cops, sighing as she checked she had all the tickets. "The boat's gonna leave if we don't get a move on, so let's go!"

Although Looker wasn't technically a police officer, he _was_ a private investigator, and had worked with the police on numerous cases. He'd been invited to the conference a couple of years ago, and since then, it was almost expected of him to come along. While he enjoyed the conference itself (especially the buffet afterwards), Looker considered himself very much an introvert, and felt a little overwhelmed in the crowd of chatty officers.

"Hey hey!" Jenny grinned, catching Looker off guard by slapping him playfully on the back. "Lookin' good, Looker!"

"Hello again, Jenny," Looker said, a little awkwardly. "How are you?"

"Good, good. Looking forward to the cruise. It'll be nice to take a couple of days off the job, you know? Get away from Team Rocket and relax on _The Albatross_." (**Oh, the irony**).

"When's the ship leaving, incidentally?" Looker asked, glancing over at the boat.

"Uh..." Jenny started, glancing at her watch. "Just about now." She turned to the officers again, and blew her whistle. "HEY! GET A MOVE ON!" she bellowed, smiling as the cops started to walk towards the ship. "C'mon, Looker. I want to get good seats."

* * *

Jessie and James turned white with horror as at least thirty police officers strode happily through the room, some taking seats on the expensive leather couches and others making their way upstairs.

"Bu- but," Jessie stammered. "How...?"

"Not now," James whispered, feeling himself shudder as an officer brushed past him. "Just keep going with the plan."

"Hey, these drinks aren't gonna serve themselves!" a genuine member of staff scolded, handing James a round tray of glasses of champagne. James balanced the tray on one hand, and grinned sheepishly.

"Right. Sorry."

Once the man was out of earshot, Jessie pulled James around the corner so they were out of sight. "What should we do? This place's crawling with the law!" Jessie hissed.

"I know," James said, and then paused in thought. "Maybe Giovanni stitched us up."

"Don't be stupid," Jessie replied dismissively. "He sent his precious Cassidy and Butch on this mission, remember? He wouldn't do that to them."

"So you're saying he didn't know that, like, a billion cops were going to board this ship?"

"I can't think of another reason," Jessie muttered, fiddling with her hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. "He would've mentioned something like that."

"_We have become aware of the presence of roughly fifty officers on The Albatross," _came the voice from the earpieces Jessie and James were wearing, startling them. "_However, it is evident that they do not know that Team Rocket are on board the ship. Agents are asked to take no further action until additional instructions are given. Remain in character, and don't do anything to arouse suspicion."_

"Ok," James breathed, stepping back into the longue, the tray of champagne still resting on his palm. "You heard him. Just play along."

* * *

Dragging the mop across the smooth tiled floor, Mondo let the information he'd just heard through his earpiece sink in, and turned to Meowth, looking terrified. He checked that no one else was around before speaking: "What are we going to do, Meowth?

"Relax," Meowth said for what felt like the millionth time, although he was starting to get nervous himself. There was definitely nothing in the briefing about fifty cops being on board. "If the cops don't know Team Rocket's here, we can just keep up the charade until they get off, and then return to the plan."

Nodding quickly, Mondo dipped the mop in the bucket of water, and finished wiping the muddy footprints off the bathroom floor. "There," he said, resting the mop against the wall and wiping his brow. "Phew!"

"Good job. Now I suggest we find Jessie and James- just to make sure they don't screw up," Meowth suggested.

"Oh, I'm sure James and Miss Jessie would never need help!" Mondo exclaimed loyally. "They're the best agents I know!"

"You can't know many agents, then," Meowth mumbled, but too quietly for Mondo to hear. He'd forgotten how much the kid respected Jessie and James, and how little he knew of their tendancy to fail at, well, everything. "Let's go anyway," Meowth said, reluctantly walking on four legs as they stepped out of the bathroom, in case anyone else was around. "I'm sure they'll appreciate our company."

* * *

The longue, Looker decided, was even worse than standing outside with the cops.

People chatted in tight groups, unhelpfully standing in the middle of the room so in order to get from one end to the other, Looker had to weave around at least ten clusters of passengers. Sighing, he focused on the idea of escaping to his room at the first possible oppurtunity, and nodded to a waiter carrying a tray of champagne flutes full to the brim.

"You!" Looker and the blue-haired waiter gasped at the same time as they recognised each other. Despite the perfect disguise, Looker immediately knew that the young man was James- he'd worked with him, Jessie and Meowth enough times before. James looked pleadingly at Looker as he slowly took a glass off the tray, his green eyes wide with fear.

Looker knew he should announce the presence of the Rocket to the other cops, but couldn't bring himself to do it. It wasn't that he cared for Team Rocket in the slightest, but he had an unspoken truce with this particular trio, as they'd helped him out on numerous occaisions in the past. So, instead of revealing James' identity, he merely downed the champagne in one gulp, screwing up his face at the burst of alchohol, and set the glass back on the tray.

"Good champagne," he noted to James, who smiled with relief as he realised that Looker wasn't going to snitch, and mouthed a thank you as the detective walked away.

The buzz of alchohol kept Looker's fear of morally having done the wrong thing at bay as he jogged up the flight of stairs two steps at a time, patting the pocket of his coat to check that he still had the key to his room.

"109..." he murmured to himself, looking at the numbers of the rooms on either side of him as he strode along. When he finally reached his room, Looker unlocked the door as quickly as he could, shut it behind him, and collapsed onto the double bed.

It looked like it was going to be one of those days.

* * *

"So lunchbox guy's here too?" Jessie questioned, reffering to Looker. "I'm surprised he didn't blow your cover."

"Me too. And not so loud!" James whispered, casting nervous glances to the officers all around them. He spun around as a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Mondo was standing behind them with Meowth, trying not to appear fased by the cops.

"Just wondering if you needed any help with the... cleaning," Mondo stated in a professional tone rather than his usual friendly one. Meowth opened his mouth to speak, but quickly stopped himself.

"Meow- Meowth!" he announced instead, embarassed at having to act like a mindless pokemon. Ever since he'd taught himself to speak English, Meowth found it impossible to _speak _in pokemon language- though obviously he understood it fine- so he had no idea what he'd just told the room.

"There's a puddle over there, if you could clean it up," Jessie replied, and whispered instructions as Mondo walked by: "Stick near us and don't panic."

The nod Mondo gave to show he understood was so subtle that most people wouldn't have noticed it, but Jessie saw the gesture as the teenager walked to the other side of the room. She sighed, wondering how the mission had gone so wrong so quickly, and gazed out of the window, only just realising how far out at sea they'd gotten in the last twenty minutes or so. The silhouette of the city they'd left was fading fast, the deep blue shades of the ocean stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. Water pokemon dipped up and down near the surface of the water, ranging from Goldeen to Gyarados.

As Jessie wondered when they'd recieve further instructions from the earpieces, Butch and Cassidy strode past wearing the same uniform, their usual air of confidence gone as they gawped at all the officers. Jessie's first instinct was to jump at Cassidy, but she remained in character, and smiled sweetly as a passenger took a sandwich quarter from the tray she was holding. Butch mumbled something inaudible to Cassidy, who humphed and turned away from Jessie, arms folded.

"_Of course the mission fails before it's even started when those three are here,"_ Cassidy thought angrily. "_I swear they're cursed..."_

* * *

Looker jumped at the sound of knuckles rapping on the wooden door, and reluctantly opened his eyes which took a few seconds to adjust to the sudden burst of light from the bulb above him. He'd spent the past ten minutes wondering what Team Rocket were doing disguised on _The Albatross_, and was steadily coming to the conclusion that whatever it was would probably involve stealing the pokemon of the passengers. The irony and bad luck that two groups at opposite ends of the spectrum- the police and Team Rocket- should chance to board the same ship almost amused the detective, who slowly sat up in the soft king-sized bed and stretched as the knocking at his door returned.

"Just coming," he called, feeling groggy as he traipsed over to the other side of the room.

Officer Jenny's face appeared in the doorway as he pulled the door open, taken aback by the sudden presence of his colleague.

"Oh- um, hi," Looker greeted, rubbing his aching head. Jenny grinned, and tugged him out into the hallway.

"Lunch's being served downstairs- everyone else is going to the dining hall," Jenny explained. "Wanna join us?"

"Uh- sure," Looker answered, a little warily.

"Great!" Jenny smiled, beginning to march briskly down the carpeted hall as Looker hurridly locked the door to his room, anxious to keep up with her. He'd only been on the ship for the best part of an hour, and was certain he'd get lost if he tried to find the dining hall by himself.

"So, how are you finding the cruise so far?" Jenny questioned chattily, maintainting her lead by a few steps.

"Yeah, good," Looker replied, breaking into a jog for a few seconds to keep up with Jenny's pace. "The rooms are certainly comfortable."

"You can say that again! I've never stayed anywhere so luxy before! It was definitely worth the extra money," Jenny said as they stepped through an automatic door that led to a downwards staircase. Looker's eyes were drawn to various paintings dotted around the walls surrounding them, the careful brush strokes and golden frames suggesting that the pictures were worth considerably more than most people would pay for interior decor.

"Come on, Looker," Jenny said impatiently, already trotting down the stairs precariously in her high heels. "I'm starving, and that stuffed chicken sounded really good."

"Sorry," Looker apologised, beginning to make his way down the staircase as he forced himself to tear his eyes away from the artwork. As his stomach growled in protest to the lack of food, he realised for the first time just how hungry he was. He'd had to skip breakfast to make it to the pier in time, and the instant ramen he'd had the night before wasn't exactly substantial, so Looker quickened his pace as the idea of a hot meal began to take over his thoughts. He just hoped whatever scheme Team Rocket was planning could wait, at least until he'd finished lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

James sighed as a man sitting cross-legged on one of the leather sofas snapped his fingers for service impatiently. As he made his way over, James studied the man, sure he'd met him before. The guy wore a pristine white suit with a split tail, and expensive-looking black shoes. His pale blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail that fell just below his shoulders.

Curling his fingers around the thin neck of a champagne glass on the tray James held, the man raised his eyebrows with recognition as he looked at the waiter, and sat upright.

"James Kojiro?" he questioned disbelievingly, almost choking on his mouthful of alchohol. Groaning, James realised how he knew the man sitting in front of him.

"No..." James mumbled unconvincingly.

"It _is_ you!" the man said triumphantly. "I'd recognise that voice anywhere."

James now remembered the man's name to be Randall Robinson- a name he shuddered at the mere sound of.

Randall stood up slowly, swirling his glass in his hand as he broke into a nasty smile.

"So, what's the heir to the Kojiro estate doing working as a waiter?" he asked, not expecting a response so continuing straight away. "I would have thought such a profession beneath even you."

A cold laugh escaping his lips, Randall leant towards James so his face was close to his.

"Still, you never run out of ways to lower yourself, do you?" he snarled softly, and then added with a sneer: "You're pathetic."

James didn't react to the insult, but fixed his gaze on the floor beneath his shoes instead. As Randall walked past James, he purposely knocked into his shoulder, catching the Rocket off guard and sending him crashing to the ground. The tray slipped out of James' hand as he fell, the glasses shattering on impact and spilling champagne all over him. Randall didn't even cast a glance back at the damage he'd caused, but continued to walk towards the exit of the longue, taking small sips from his glass.

"You shouldn't hire such clumsy staff," he advised a manager on his way out, and disappeared into the next room.

The sound of breaking glass caught the attention of many people in the room, who now stared at James, lowering their voices to whispers as he sat up. Mondo and Jessie rushed over to him, armed with paper towels.

"Are you ok?" Mondo enquired worridly, looking at the shards of jagged glass all over James. He pressed a towel onto the carpet that was now soaked with alchohol, and watched as the pale liquid seeped up into the paper.

Jessie studied James nervously, all too aware that out of the people watching the scene, many were cops. He didn't appear to be hurt physically, but tears threatened to spill over his eyes, which he cast back to the ground hurridly.

"I'm fine," he said, sniffing as he half-heartedly began gathering up the broken glass.

"Stop- you'll cut yourself," Jessie said, tutting. "Wait there, I'll get a brush."

Champagne dripping off his uniform, James pushed himself up, avoiding eye contact with the people around him. Randall's cold laugh echoed in his head, and he clenched his hands into fists, exhaling through his nostrils. "_Who does he think he is?" _James thought to himself, anger quickly replacing his fear and embarassment. "_I'll show him who's pathetic!"_

Trying to brush away his unfallen tears but only succeeding in wiping alchohol into his face with his damp sleeve, James strode purposefully towards the exit Randall had left through, an unfamiliar anger surging through him. He was sick of being such a pushover, the guy everyone else knew they could kick around.

James ignored the manager who was calling him back, and pushed through the double glass doors, all eyes in the loungue fixed on his back as he disappeared from the room.

He wouldn't be so weak anymore.

* * *

Looker gazed around the dining hall in amazement, hungrily taking in the spread of food before him.

Long tables blanketed with white silk tablecloths filled the room, each one able to seat twelve people. Spread out across them were platters holding food of all kinds: roast pork, stuffed chicken, grilled sandwiches, prawns neatly arranged around dips and steaks were a few of the items on offer.

His mouth watering, Looker hurried over to an empty seat next to Jenny, using all his willpower to stop himself from just grabbing the entire chicken in front of him and devouring it.

"Sorry I'm late," a voice came behind him. Turning around, he recognised the officer as Jonathan- a cop who'd gained recent fame among the police by almost single-handedly solving numerous crimes. Jonathan sat next to Looker, taking off his hat and hanging it on the corner of his seat to reveal a mop of light brown hair. "Bit of drama in the longue," he explained as the people around him began to fill their plates. "Some guy pushed into a waiter, who had the bad luck to be holding a tray of champagne at the time."

"Ouch," Jenny said, pausing to speak between mouthfuls. "Was he okay?"

"I think so. Didn't look like the glass cut him, anyway," Jonathan replied as he filled his glass with white wine. "He stormed off though. Looked pretty pissed off, to say the least."

Looker wondered if the waiter Jonathan was talking about was a member of Team Rocket or not as he shovelled a forkful of mashed potato into his mouth, barely noticing that it was burning his tongue.

"Well, who wouldn't be?" Jenny said, tapping the handle of her knife on the table. "Poor guy."

A terrified shriek that sounded several rooms away made Looker jump, and bite his tongue. Cursing, he raised a hand to his lips, which came back red when he looked at it. As the metallic taste of his own blood filled his mouth, Looker stood up, wondering where the scream had come from.

"What was that?" Jenny asked concernedly, resting her cutlery on her plate and looking over her shoulder. Jonathan bit his lip, frowning.

"It sounded like someone screamed 'help'."

Hurridly wiping her mouth, Jenny rushed past Looker and towards the general direction of the cry. "I'm going to see what's wrong," she explained to the table of her colleagues as she neared the door.

"I'm going too," Looker decided aloud, and ran over to join her, his open brown jacket flapping in the air.

"Where do you think it came from?" Jenny asked, and, as if to answer her question, the scream rang again, this time much closer: "Help!"

"This way," Looker said, sprinting thorugh another set of double doors, his breathing quickening.

"It must have come from in there," Jenny reasoned as they reached the end of the coridoor- a dead end apart from a lone wooden door. Nodding to each other, Jenny and Looker opened the door together, and stepped into the room in unison.

"_Jesus,_" Jenny breathed, suddenly frozen in her tracks.

A young man in a white tuxedo lay unmoving on the floor, a growing puddle of crimson around him. His suit was now almost more red than white with his own blood, which was steadily flowing from a wound in his stomach. A waiter about the same age as the dead man kneeled over his corpse, shaking uncontrollably as he pressed his hands over the wound, desperately trying to halt the flow of blood.

"Help me," the waiter whispered, turning to them. Looker knew that the waiter was James before he had even fully turned around; his violet-blue hair and distinctive accent gave away his identity.

While Jenny wasn't used to bodies- especially not in this state- Looker had worked on multiple murder cases in the past, and kept his composure, though the corpse still send a shiver trickling down his spine.

"It's too late," he told James softly as the Rocket stifled back a sob. "Jenny, get the others," Looker instructed, turning to his pale colleague. For once, Jenny was speechless, and merely nodded as she backed out of the room.

"Did you know this man, James?" Looker asked gently. James sniffed, and nodded.

"H-he was called Randall. Randall Robinson," James choked, unable to tear his eyes away from the body of the man who, minutes ago, had been a living, breathing human. Randall's pale blue eyes stared hollowly at the ceiling above, his lips parted slightly. One of Randall's arms fell limply across his chest, while the other lay beside him. Blood seeped from his stomach, dying his previously pristine suit ruby red.

His detective instincts kicking in, Looker inspected the room around him, looking for potential clues. A knife lay discarded on the floor, sticky with blood. Unless the killer was trying to confuse him about how Randall had died, Looker assumed that it was the murder weapon. Nothing else in the room seemed odd or out of place, but, Looker thought, he'd have to examine the scene properly later. He looked carefully at James, who was obviously in shock. Looker didn't believe for one moment that James could have killed Randall, despite the fact that all clues seemed to be pointing that way. However good his acting skills might be, no one could fake the look of utter terror that now plastered James' face, and besides that, Looker just didn't think that the Rocket had either the strength or the coldness neccessary to carry out such an act.

"Where's the body?" Jonathan demanded as he burst into the room, several officers behind him.

"Oh my god," a younger, less experienced cop called Ethan gasped as he saw Randall. Looker gently pulled James away from the corpse, who didn't protest.

"That was the man who pushed the waiter," Looker heard Jonathan hiss to Jenny behind him. "And... that's the waiter he pushed."

Jenny gasped, looking at James. "You don't think...?"

"It looks like it," Jonathan replied quietly. "But we can't jump to any rash conclusions. It could have been anyone."

Jenny nodded, and approached James. "We're going to need to ask you some questions, sir," she told him, and then added sympathetically: "I'm sorry you had to be the one to find him."

"Me too," James sniffed, smiling weakly. He realised that if they questioned him, they would be bound to take his prints or look him up on a computer, meaning they'd soon find out who he really was. However, he didn't feel nearly as panicked as he would have been normally- he was more preoccupied with thinking about Randall. The initial shock of seeing the corpse was wearing off, and James was able to think more clearly. Desperate escape routes were already beginning to form in his head, but he dismissed each one nearly as soon as he'd thought it up. He knew he was screwed.

"What are we going to do?" Jonathan asked Jenny, breaking the silence along with James' train of thought. "The boat won't reach the next city for days."

"Try calling the station," Jenny suggested distractedly as a female officer began taking pictures of the body. Jonathan pulled out his phone, and held down a button on the side for a few seconds. A few moments after the screen turned on, his face fell.

"No signal."

Jenny sighed, running her hand through her hair. "We'll just have to make do with what we have until the boat reaches the city. We have a whole squad of officers, after all, and a experienced detective. It's extremely lucky that we should all be on board. There should be enough people to solve this case, or at least find a few potential suspects before we reach land again." Pausing in thought for a few seconds, Jenny exhaled, and swivelled round to face the other officers. "Round up all the passengers, and don't touch anything that might be evidence without gloves. I want to catch this killer before somebody else gets hurt."

"Right," her colleagues said in unison.

"I'll tell the captain what's happened," Jonathan stated. "Maybe I can use the speakers to gather up the passengers."

"Good idea," Jenny replied, nodding to Jonathan as he dashed out of the room. "What's your name?" she asked James, smiling a little but still unsure that he wasn't their culprit.

"Anthony Johnson," James lied, instinctively using the cover name he'd prepared. He knew that lying about his name would only delay the police finding out who he was, but Team Rocket training taught all members never to give away information until you have to.

Looker bit his tongue, but didn't tell Jenny James' real name. He figured that she'd find out soon enough anyway.

"Okay, Anthony," Jenny said. "If you'd just follow me, and I'll ask you a few questions."

* * *

"_This is an urgent request from the police. Could all passengers please make their way towards the longue immediately, including staff. That's everyone to the longue. Please remain calm and orderly while doing so. Thank you."_

Jessie, Mondo and Meowth exchanged nervous glances as the intercom crackled, and went silent.

"Do you think they know about Team Rocket, Miss Jessie?" Mondo asked softly when he was sure that the attention of the other passengers was distracted.

"I don't know," Jessie said as a wave of people began piling into the longue, passengers shoving past each other to get further forward and calling out to check that friends and relatives were present. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

She noticed that the disguised Rockets in the room were beginning to gather in a tight group, and nudged Mondo and Meowth when she saw Kay beckoning them over. "C'mon. Let's go."

"Alright," Kay hissed once all the Rockets were present. "Something's obviously happened to concern the police of the passenger's safety. I don't know whether they've found out about us or not, but if they have, we need a plan, and fast."

"Let's just take 'em on," Butch interrupted. "There's fifty of us and fifty of them. That makes it an even fight."

"Well, it would be even if the cops didn't have guns and tazers, moron!" Cassidy shot back.

"Oh. Yeah, right," Butch mumbled, embarrassed.

"Just keep it cool, and if it turns out they _do _know who we are, deny it to the bitter end," Kay whispered.

"Right," everyone else agreed, and dispersed, trying their best to act normal.

As Jenny, Looker, James and a couple of other cops entered the longue, a red-haired officer began counting the passengers while calling out names from a list.

"Everyone's here," she eventually reported to Jenny, who nodded.

"Excellent. We'll have to tell them what's happened."

"But... Won't that just panic everyone even more?" Jonathan asked, gesturing to the anxious guests all around him. "There are kids here..."

"It's their right to know. We can't keep something like this hidden, especially if it's gonna be more than a couple of days before we reach land," Jenny told him, and then shouted for the room's attention. "Thanks you all for being so co-operative," she started once the chatter had died down. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience, but we needed to make sure that everyone was okay." Jenny took a deep breath, realising that there wasn't an easy way to tell the frightened passengers staring at her what had happened. "A passenger has died."

A few people gasped, and the room quickly buzzed with conversation again.

"Who was it?" someone yelled.

"Randall Robinson," Looker replied, his voice unusually confident and loud.

"How do you know that?" Jenny muttered to him, frowning.

"The waiter knew him," Looker explained, pointing to James.

"Right. Did anyone know a man called Randall Robinson?" Jenny asked the crowd. She cursed at the silence that followed. "_So the waiter's the only one who can tell us anything about the victim,"_ she thought glumly. "_And he also happens to be our main and only suspect."_

* * *

Not having to fake her shocked expression, Jessie turned to Kay, hoping for some kind of reassurance.

"We're screwed," Butch piped up unhelpfully. "They'll have to check everyone's identities if someone's been killed."

"They only said someone died," a younger Rocket Jessie didn't know the name of pointed out. "Maybe it was just an accident."

Cassidy scoffed. "Please, kid. Did you see the look on the faces of those cops? They looked pretty shaken. And besides, why would there be all this urgency to see if everyone else was okay if it was a natural death, or an accident? It's gotta have been a murder," she concluded. For once, Jessie found herself silently agreeing with Cassidy, as much as she hated to admit it. She couldn't think of another reason for the police to be so anxious.

Mondo had turned as white as the cloth draped over his arm, and looked like he was having some sort of panic attack. His breathing was rapid and out of time, and cold sweat plastered his face, glistening in the bright light from the lamps above. Although she hated to see her younger team mate so terrified, Jessie couldn't think of any consoling words. A squad of fifty officers chancing to board the ship, combined with a murder that would draw attention to the identities of everyone on board was just about the worst way that the mission could go wrong without someone messing up.

"Where's James?" Kay asked suddenly, snapping Jessie back to the situation at hand.

"With the cops," Cassidy answered, pointing over to where Jenny and Looker were standing.

"Crap!" Jessie and Kay exclaimed at the same time.

"Why do you reckon he's with them?" Kay enquired, looking stressed.

"There's blood on his hands," Butch said. "I don't mean that he's guilty- there's literally blood on his hands."

Looking over at her partner, Jessie saw that Butch was right; James' palms were stained red with blood, which was also on some of his uniform.

"Maybe he found the body," Kay suggested.

"Maybe he _killed _Randall whatever-his-name-was," another Rocket said.

"Don't be stupid," Butch laughed. "James couldn't even hurt someone, let alone kill them. He's too soft."

"Hey!" Jessie protested, but couldn't think of an argument to follow up with. It was true that James was far more gentle-natured than your average villain, and she'd seen him have moral dilemas every time they stole something.

"Are you saying you think James _did_ do it?" Cassidy smirked.

"Of course I'm not," Jessie snapped. "But anyone who calls my partner soft has me to answer to, got it?"

"I'm _so _scared," Cassidy said sarcastically, putting on an overly high-pitched voice.

"Cut it out," Kay sighed as the two female Rockets shot daggers at each other. "We have more important things to worry about than your little rivalry."

Jessie and Cassidy blushed, and fell silent.

"What are we gonna do about James? They'll question him if he did find the body," Butch said, a few others murmuring in agreement.

"We'll just have to hope he keeps his mouth shut," Kay said tiredly. "If they find out who he is... Well, we'll need to make a quick exit."

"How?" Mondo asked, speaking for the first time since they'd grouped up.

"There are speed boats out on the deck. I've seen them used for taking passengers fishing- meet there if the police ask for indentification, and we'll have to ditch the mission."

The Rockets didn't protest at this- they all knew that their chances of carrying out any part of the mission successfully were small to nil at this point; even getting away from the cops was starting to look unlikely.

"Any word from Giovanni?" Jessie enquired hopefully, wondering if Kay had any means of communicating with headquarters. Her face fell as Kay shook her head.

"Nothing. I don't even know if he knows about our current... situation," Kay admitted. "So, unless he springs a rescue squad on us, we're on our own."


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure he's alright for questioning? He looks pretty shaken up," a cop whispered to Jenny, looking anxiously over at James. Jenny sighed, the carefree young officer she was earlier gone and replaced with a person who'd seen enough violence in the last twenty minutes to last most people a lifetime. Her face was etched with lines of stress that grew bolder as she frowned, making Jenny look much older than her twenty three years.

"No, I'm not sure," she admitted wearily, digging her nails into her palms as she clenched her hands into fists. The image of Randall lying lifelessly on the floor flashed through her mind, making her flinch as if she'd been hit. Jenny couldn't push the memories out of her head, and suddenly, they consumed her thoughts, more bold and vivid than she thought possible.

_His ice blue eyes dead of emotion, blood slowly seeping into his white suit, his lips parted in a final, silent scream..._

Jenny shook her head furiously, snapping herself out of the terrifying scene that had formed in her mind and pressing a hand to each side of her head, her eyes squeezed shut as she took a few deep breaths that sounded laboured. She knew that, as one of the senior officers on her squad, she should remain professional, but the truth was that she'd only ever dealt with petty thieves and amateur criminals who thought robbing a bank only took a couple of guns and a balaclava. This was the first time she'd seen a murder, and the corpse of the young man had shaken her more than she'd like to admit to her colleagues. Even Ethan, who was barely an adult at eighteen and had only just joined the police force looked more in control than Jenny as he scribbled down notes on a clipboard resting in one of his hands.

"_I have to keep it together,"_ Jenny told herself, and with a deep breath, turned back to the cop. "He might be in shock, but we need to get as much information as we can as soon as possible," she explained, struggling to stop the tremor in her voice. "Little details that could help solve the whole case will fade from his memory otherwise, and the waiter's the only one on the ship who knew Randall."

"Right," the cop replied, nodding, and then frowned slightly. "Um... Are you alright, ma'am?" the black-haired officer asked concernedly, tactfully lowering his voice and taking a step towards his colleague.

"Fine," Jenny said, her reply a little too quick to be convincing. She forced a weak smile, but knew she wasn't fooling anyone as the corners of her lips quivered.

The officer nodded again, smiling sympathetically at Jenny, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before walking away.

Looker wished that he could comfort Jenny like the cop just had, but didn't know the right way to go about it. He wasn't particularly charismatic, didn't have a story of loss to share with Jenny to show he understood and certainly didn't posses the skills to make light of the situation without being tactless or crude. The last time he'd tried to talk to someone who'd lost a family member, he'd ended up mumbling some pathetic story about how he'd given away a Pokemon as a kid, and how the pain had faded; subsequently, the grieving woman had called him an "emotionless bastard who clearly had no idea what [she] was going through if he could compare the death of a family member to trading away a Pokemon".

So, when Looker's gaze met Jenny's, instead of smiling empathetically, or offering some words of wisdom, he averted his eyes awkwardly instead, fearing what he would intend as a comforting smile might come across as a cruel smirk indicating that he found her reaction amusing.

"We've given the crime scene a quick check," Jonathan announced as he paced into the room, followed by a couple of other cops. "Like Looker already said, there's nothing that stands out as suspicious, or gives us any more information about the murder- as far as we can tell, anyway." He paused, pulling a couple of loose strands of his brown hair behind his ears, and then noticed Jenny's change in mood. Jonathan put his hands on her shoulders, smiling softly and nodding in a way that showed he understood. Jenny returned the smile, and pulled him into a brief hug.

"Thank you," she mouthed as the two broke apart, feeling a little less shaken. Looker silently watched the exchange, envious of Jonathan's ability to comfort people and wishing that he was less of a socially-awkward emotionless bastard.

Jenny cleared her throat and glanced over at James, who was apparently very interested in his shoes, not taking his eyes off the ground. "Right. We'll need somewhere more private than here to ask him about the victim," she said, gesturing to the crowds of passengers and staff filling the longue.

"What about one of the empty store rooms?" Ethan suggested, putting the lid on his pen and resting it behind his ear. "I walked into at least two by mistake when I was looking for the dining room. They're pretty secluded, and I don't think they're being used for anything."

"Sounds good," Jenny agreed, sounding less shaken but still far from her usual self. "We can try, anyway. Do you remember where you found it?"

"I think so," Ethan nodded, and pointed towards the coridoor. "It was out there somewhere on the left... I can show you when we go."

"Okay," Jenny said, and then walked towards James, who snapped his head up quickly at the sound of her high heels clicking against the tiled flooring. "Are you okay to answer some questions now?" she asked, but knew that the enquiry was merely a formality. The waiter had no choice, whether he was 'okay' or not.

"Sure," James replied, his heart punching against his chest as he realised how close to being found out he was. He was pretty impressed at himself for not totally breaking down as he would have done usually- James supposed that seeing Randall's body had been surreal, to say the least, and now everything felt a bit like a strange dream he kept thinking he'd wake up from at any moment. In a couple of hours, the weight of his situation would probably kick in, and he'd be the sobbing wreck he usually would be in this circumstance.

"Let's go then," Jonathan said, and, along with Jenny, Ethan and James, began to make his way towards the coridoor, unaware that as he left the room, a pair of eyes followed him, taking in every move he made.

"Yes... Yes, it's done," the figure hissed into his phone once the officers were out of sight. He chuckled for a moment, adjusting the hat that painted his face with shadows, and shook his head. "No... Of course not," he assured the person on the other side of the phone connection. "They don't suspect a thing."

* * *

"We have to move, _now_," Kay ordered, the usual steadiness in her voice slipping. "There's no point in waiting- we'll have a better chance if we get out of here now."

"What about James?" Jessie pointed out. "We can't just leave him!"

"We have to," Kay sighed, wiping her brow. "Look- we'll come back for him, and I'm sure that Giovanni will sort out this mess once he finds out what happened."

"Not if he's a moider suspect," Meowth muttered worridly under his breath.

"You'll be no use to James if the police catch you," Kay reminded him. "The best thing to do is to head back to headquarters, and work things out from there."

"Do we even know how to get back to headquarters from the middle of the ocean?" Cassidy butted in. "I know we'll have speedboats, but still..."

"That's not a problem. I have a GPS system on my Poketch," Kay replied, holding up her wrist to show the watch-like device. It was similar to any other Poketch- the only difference was the red 'R' printed on the glossy plastic above the screen.

Butch nodded, scratching the back of his head in thought. "We should get going, then. Should we move in a group, or...?"

"Small groups," Kay clarified, a few people murmuring agreement. "That way we shouldn't attract too much attention to ourselves."

As the Rockets began to disperse, Meowth cleared his throat, and when he was certain that the buzz of conversation in the room was loud enough to drown out his voice, spoke: "I'm stayin' here."

Jessie and Mondo frowned at the cat Pokemon, glancing at each other in confusion. "But..." Mondo started.

"Dey don't keep identities on Pokemon," Meowth explained. "As long as I remember to keep my trap shut, they'll tink I'm just a normal Meowth. I'll hang around trainers, gather info on what's going on, and report back to ya."

Kay opened her mouth to object, but when she couldn't think of a reason against Meowth's proposition, shrugged. "I don't see why not," she said eventually.

"Fine. Leave the cat here, let's just go!" Cassidy interrupted impatiently, and then, realising that a few passengers were staring at her, lowered her voice before continuing: "So, the speedboats should have enough fuel to get us back?"

Kay nodded, and then checked her phone. "Good. There's signal. Once we've left, I'll call the boss, and tell him what's happened. He'll probably sent a coach or something to pick us up from Veilstone."

While the majority of Rockets casually resumed their previous positions, slowly trickling out in twos and threes into the coridoor, Jessie turned back to Meowth.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" she whispered, unsure whether to leave him or not. Meowth nodded, and then yawned to diffuse the awkward tension.

"Well, see ya, Jess," he said simply, barely moving his lips to avoid being seen talking by a passenger. Neither Meowth nor Jessie were ones for sentimental farewells (especially the cat Pokemon), and he wanted to avoid any emotions building up that he didn't know how to deal with. It wasn't that he didn't care about Jessie- far from it- but Meowth found it easier to pretend he wasn't bothered, and avoid what he referred to as "sappiness". "_It ain't like I'm never gonna see her again, anyway,"_ he reminded himself.

"In a bit, cat," Jessie replied, and then added, "If anything happens, call me on your earpiece. Otherwise, meet me and Mondo at Jubilife City. That's the next stop the ship'll come to."

"Sure. Hopefully with James," Meowth grinned, but felt uneasy as the two humans walked away, waving subtly as they crossed the room. He cared about Jessie and James more than he'd like to admit to anyone, even himself. They were morons most of the time, but he'd grown fond of the two Rockets, and they were pretty much the only friends he had.

"_Ugh, I sound like sound like the inside of some soppy diary, thinkin' 'bout friends and relationships and all dat sap," _Meowth thought, slightly disgusted at himself. "_An' lettin' myself grow fond of those two lugs... It ain't sensible." _The cat sighed, and rubbed his charm distractedly. He hated to confess it, but the fact was he _did_ care about his team mates, and he didn't want to lose them. And if the trio he belonged to was going to stay a trio, he was going to have to concentrate.

"_I gotta get Jimmy off the ship..."_

As Meowth was about to make his way over to the door James had left through to see if he could eavesdrop, he noticed a figure wearing a long overcoat and a hat strolling outside onto the balcony that overlooked the sea. Unlike most of the passengers, the man didn't looked shocked or frightened, but almost amused, his lip curling upwards slightly as he pulled out a thin phone. Meowth shrugged, but couldn't help but feel curious as he turned away, his ear twitching as among the chatter, he picked out a slither of the conversation the man was having to the person he was connected to through his phone.

"As long as it's all gone through by Monday... No, no, that's fine... Yes." Meowth heard the man pause for a while, and then lower his voice. "No problem. It was easier than you can imagine- really."

Meowth frowned as the man disconnected with a beep almost indistinguishable among the noise in the longue, but the cat heard it, his hearing far more advanced than any human on board. "_I wonder what all dat was about..."_ Meowth mused, and, with a shrug, continued to weave his way around the legs of the passengers filling the room, growing closer and closer to the double glass doors.

* * *

"What did you say your name was?"

James shifted uncomfortably in his seat at Jonathan's question, intimidated by the numerous officers standing around him. It was, at this point, more an interview than an interrogation, but he still felt uneasy in the secluded storage room.

"Anthony Johnson," James answered nervously, praying that he hadn't just given a different name to the one he'd claimed to have earlier.

"Okay," Jenny nodded, scribbling something down on a note pad and glancing back up at him. "And how did you find Randall?"

"Um... Well, he'd, uh, pushed past me on his way out of the longue," James began, resisting the urge to tug at the collar that felt like it was strangling him, "And I was angry, so I followed him. But he was at least a minute ahead of me when I left, so I had to look around for a bit, before I... found him there."

"And what were your intentions when you left?" Jonathan enquired, raising an eyebrow.

James' eyes widened when he realised what the cop was implying, and quickly shook his head. "Oh- no, no, I wasn't going to hurt him!" he said hurridly. "I just wanted to... Well, I don't really know what I was going to do when I found Randall. Argue, I guess."

"Mm hm," Jonathan replied, unconvinced, and pulled out a small plastic device that didn't look unlike a Pokedex. As Jonathan pressed down on a button for several seconds until the screen flashed on, James sat up to get a better look at the machine, wondering what it was.

"It's called a Porta-dat," Jenny explained, as if reading his thoughts. "Latest piece of technology. It has a record of all the data ever logged into any station, including the files of anyone with a criminal record. You scan a thumb-print on that, and if we have any data on you, it'll show up."

"Neat," James gulped, any doubts that he'd be found out vanishing. "When were these introduced?" he asked, his pitch higher than usual as he struggled to keep the fear out of his voice.

"A few days before we left for the cruise," Ethan answered.

"_Of course a new piece of identification-revealing technology is invented a few days before I find a body and become a _murder_ suspect,"_ James thought miserably to himself. "_That's just my luck."_

Jonathan tapped a few buttons on the screen, and then swiveled the Porta-dat around on the wooden desk so that it was facing James. "If you'd just put your thumb on the bottom screen, and hold it there for a few seconds," he said, and then added with a reassuring smile, "Just a formality, of course."

Weakly returning the smile, James wiped his clammy palms on his trousers, and lifted a trembling hand up to the desk, pressing his left thumb on the cold, smooth glass screen. The surface lit up as soon as his skin came into contact with it, and after a few seconds, the top screen burst to life, displaying a small mugshot of James and some text.

"_James Kojiro," _the machine stated robotically, earning surprised expressions from the officers present and a groan from James. "_Age: eighteen. Male. Status: wanted. Known offences: theft, tresspassing, fraud, possession of false identity documents, operation of unlicensed or illegal machinery, Team Rocket membership or association, arson."_

James felt his despair strengthen with each crime that the robotic voice read out, sinking lower into his chair as Jenny, Ethan and Jonathan turned to him, a mixture of accusation and confusion on their faces._ "Hold on...Arson?" _James thought confusedly, not aware of being a pyromaniac. "_Oh, it must mean that time Jessie, Meowth and I set that crazy perfume lady's gym on fire..."_

"Anthony Johnson, huh?" Jenny snarled, snapping James out of his thoughts and back to the present. "That's not what it says here!"

Ethan picked up the Porta-dat, the bright light from the screen reflecting in his grey eyes as they skimmed across the text next to the picture of James. "Team Rocket field agent..." he mumbled as he read James' description, and then turned to his two superiors. "If he's actually a Rocket disguised as a waiter, then does that mean that the other staff...?"

Jenny nodded. "Chances are, at least some of them will probably be Rockets too."

"Are there other Rockets on this ship?" Jonathan demanded, his eyes piercing into James'.

James said nothing, fixing his gaze on the table in front of him and trying not to look as frightened as he felt.

Jonathan sighed frustratedly, spun on his heel and strode briskly towards the door. "If he's not talking, we're just going to have to check all the staff. Passengers too, maybe. You two stay here, and I'll get some other officers to help."

"Right," Jenny and Ethan said simultaneously, watching Jonathan's back as he disappeared behind the closing door.

After a brief silence, Jenny swung a chair in a half circle so that it was in front of her, and sat down tiredly, trying her best to maintain an intimidating appearance. "If you know anything about other Team Rocket agents on board this ship, I suggest you tell us now," she advised menacingly. "We'll find out either way." When the lavender-haired man said nothing in response, she slammed a hand down on the table, making both James and Ethan jump. "Look, _James,_" Jenny growled, narrowing her eyes. "I don't appreciate being lied to. We can either get answers out of you the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice."

Ethan caught Jenny's eye, and saw her nod discreetly. "Calm down," Ethan told her, moving forwards towards the desk. "We just want to eliminate possible suspects," he said kindly to James. "If you can help us, it'll be a lot easier- for both you and us."

James looked up at the two cops wearily. "I'm familiar with the 'good cop, bad cop' method," he replied, having immediately seen through the act; he'd used similar techniques himself when acting with Jessie and Meowth.

Glancing defeatedly at each other, Jenny and Ethan sighed, and sat down again, knowing that the charade and empty threats wouldn't work. "Fine. We'll start with the questions you are willing to answer," Jenny muttered, pushing the Porta-dat to one side and flicking through a few pages of the booklet that had hastily been constructed, filled with pictures of Randall's corpse briefly annotated with notes. "Maybe you can tell us how you knew the victim?" she suggested, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Seeing no reason in witholding information about his relationship with Randall now that Jenny knew who he really was, James nodded. "I've know Randall since we were... five? Six? We... used to be pretty good friends, I think. Both my parents and his were- are- rich, and we saw each other at parties and other social events hosted at either my house or Randall's.

"Randall was engaged to a girl called Jessibelle from a very young age, but when Jessibelle's parents met mine, they were eager for her to marry me instead, probably because my parents were richer than Randall's, so the wedding would be more profitable for them. Love wasn't really ever a factor in the engagement. I agreed to the engagement at first, not knowing Jessibelle properly, but Randall was distraught. I think he still loved Jessibelle, long after we were small children. It was ironic, really- he wanted to marry Jessibelle more than anything, and all I wanted to do was get away from her. You can probably guess why he hated me- stealing his future wife, and then running away from it all."

Silence followed for about fifteen seconds after James had finished speaking, both Ethan and Jenny taking in what James had told them and trying to work it out.

"So..." Ethan started, scratching his head. "Randall held a grudge against you, because of an engagement to a girl called Jessibelle?"

"Pretty much."

"If your family is so rich, then why are you in Team Rocket?" Ethan enquired, studying the young man who was almost the same age as him. Now that Ethan came to think of it, he didn't seem particularly driven by money or power, and certainly didn't come across as evil. In fact, James was one of the least likely people Ethan would have thought to be a member of Team Rocket.

"I didn't join for money. It's really a long, seperate story that doesn't have much to do with the case," James said, not wanting to delve too far into his past.

"What about you?" Jenny interjected impatiently. "Did you dislike Randall?"

"I certainly wasn't fond of him after my engagement with Jessibelle," James said, remembering the cruelty and disregard of any previous friendship the two might have had that Randall had displayed. "I didn't hate him, though- in fact, I felt sort of sorry for him. I never thought it was fair that he shouldn't marry Jessibelle just because he was less rich."

"When did you last see Randall before boarding _The Albatross?_" Jenny questioned, firing each question at James as soon as he'd finished answering the previous one.

"Er... We would have been about nine or ten, I think," James replied after a few moments thought.

Jenny scrawled down something on the notepad resting in her lap, and then rested the pen behind her ear. "And was Randall already dead when you found him?" she asked simply.

"O-of course he was!" James spluttered, shocked at the blunt accusation. "I didn't kill him!"

Ignoring James' terrified expression, Jenny gestured for Ethan to join her, and walked to the corner of the room, turning away from James so that he couldn't see their conversation.

"Wrong place at the wrong time?" she hissed, unable to decide whether the Rocket was telling the truth or not.

"It seems so, but I can't be sure. He's clearly had plenty of practice with false personalities, so acting shouldn't be a problem for him," Ethan pointed out quietly.

Sighing, Jenny crossed her arms, and clicked her tongue in thought. "I guess we'll just have to wait for Jonathan to get back to us about the identities of the staff," she said. "Who knows? Maybe it'll clear things up."

Ethan nodded, but silently disagreed with his colleague. He had the nasty feeling that whatever Jonathan found out would only make the case a whole lot more complicated.


	5. Chapter 5

"C'mon," Jessie murmured under her breath as she dragged a finger over a plastic sign illustrating the layout of the ship. She and Mondo, having left slightly later than the other Rockets, had quickly become lost in the maze of identical coridoors, never entirely sure if they were doubling over their own tracks or not.

"Kay said that the speedboats are around here..." Jessie continued, tapping a nail on the diagram and letting out a heavy sigh. "We could be anywhere on this stupid ship. Whoever designed the interior might have had taste, but they sure didn't know the meaning of the word 'variation'. Everything's the same."

Mondo was on lookout, peering through a small gap in the double doors that he held open with both hands. Distracted, he grunted in reply, the thuds of his heart quickening whenever he heard the faint sound of footsteps in the distance, or thought he saw a shadow pass over the wall.

After a long silence which Mondo spent unmoving by the doors and Jessie frustratedly trying to work out their location on the intricate map, Mondo coughed awkwardly for his female team mate's attention.

"Are... Are all missions like this?" he asked softly, with a newfound appreciationg for the countless deliveries and paperwork he'd spent the entirity of his criminal career doing. He'd hated the work at the time, longing for the future of missions and agent work he spent so much time dreaming of, but if missions usually involved fifty cops, lack of communication with HQ, a murder and the relentless fear that now plagued his mind... Mondo was starting to reconsider his definition of a dream career.

Smiling to herself, Jessie shook her head slowly, forgetting that, since Mondo was facing the other way, he'd miss the gesture. "No- never," she chuckled, thinking of the repetitive work she and James were usually assigned. "In fact," she mused after a brief moment's thought, "I'd imagine that- assuming we get out of this in one piece- this mission will become something of a legend. Heck, we might even get some respect for making it back," Jessie added wishfully, hurridly tapping the wooden handrail that she leant on so as not to jinx the statement out of superstition.

Mondo felt a hint of excitement at the prospect of fame amongst fellow Rockets, but the emotion didn't come close to overriding his fear. "I should have just done a paper round," he joked half-heartedly, pleased to trigger a laugh from Jessie who then surprised him by tapping his shoulder.

"We're just going to have to keep going," she told him once he'd turned around and gently closed the doors he'd been keeping open with aching arms. "I'm getting nowhere fast with this map."

The younger Rocket nodded in reply, stroking the glossy surface of the badge reading 'Brian' that was still pinned to his shirt. He doubted that the fake name would fool anyone at this point, but there wasn't much point in taking it off.

The two quickened their pace to a stride as they passed through another coridoor indistinguishable from the one they had just left, fearing that they might be left behind on the ship if they didn't find their team mates soon.

"Yeah, at least twenty staff or so... I think they went in this general direction."

Mondo and Jessie froze in their tracks at the sound of a male voice coming from behind them, and, nodding at each other, continued as quickly as they dared as two cops pushed through the doors they had just gone through.

"Um... We need all staff back to the longue," one of the officers announced to the two Rockets as he saw them, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What do we do?" Mondo hissed, an unpleasant fluttering sensation in his stomach.

"Leg it," Jessie murmured back, and, grabbing the young teenager's arm, charged out of the hallway.

"Hey! Stop!" a cop ordered behind them as he broke into a run; the pair ignored him, turning a sharp corner and breathing heavily.

"This way," Jessie instructed as they passed a sign reading 'outdoor activities', the letters blurring as they tore past. The footsteps of the police on their tails were dangerously close behind, and showed no signs of slowing down.

"Stop!" the officer repeated, pausing to yell between pants. "We're armed!" he warned breathlessly, fumbling around on his belt for the handle of his tazer (which proved difficult when sprinting down a path that made constant change of direction unavoidable).

Adrenaline and terror kept Mondo at an impressive pace for a boy of his age and build, only falling a few steps behind Jessie, but the cops had had plenty of practice running long distances, and were all naturally athletic, as well as several years older than the people they chased. The officer leading was almost within arm's reach of Mondo, each heavy step taking him an inch or so closer to the teenager.

"Keep going!" Jessie encouraged as the doors leading outside came into view, pale blue ligh flooding in through the thin, rectangular windows. The cops had given up trying to reach their weapons while running, but a female officer had managed to unclip a walkie-talkie from her belt, and was barking information on the whereabouts of the staff to her colleagues. Several other Rocets were present by this point, having also been on their way to the boats outside but unwillingly caught up in the chase.

A member Jessie didn't know the name of crashed through a line of cops that had been blocking the doorway outside, and charged through the double doors, promptly followed by Mondo, Jessie and a few others. The officers he'd knocked over blinked surprisedly on the ground for a few moments, and then, realising what had happened, scrambled to their feet and followed the fake staff out into the outdoors.

Both Jessie and Mondo sheilded their faces at the blinding light of the sun that had suddenly replaced the dim, artificial light inside that they had grown used to over the past few hours, and blinked rapidly to try to adjust to the change of brightness. Kay, along with most of the other agents, stood in front of the smaller boats that framed the balcony outside, trying in vain to count heads as her subordinates ran around panicking. Butch and Cassidy had managed to haul a speedboat into the bright blue water with considerable effort; as soon as the base of the vechile hit the waves, they dived in, Cassidy pulling back the throttle once her partner was on board. Mondo and Jessie bolted over to them, but as they were about to climb into the boat, Butch slammed his foot down on the accelarator, and, without waiting for any of their team mates, he and Cassidy sped off in the twelve-person speedboat.

"What the hell?" Mondo protested angrily as they shot into the distance. "I thought it was _Team_ Rocket!"

After swearing loudly at her two rivals who were already shrinking into dots, Jessie swallowed her fury and turned to Kay, who was in the process of moving another speedboat. The short man who ran the speedboat trips was shouting furiously at the Rockets surrounding him, objecting in vain that "all boats must be rented out before use" and that he "hadn't even gone through the health and safety rules". No one paid him any attention as they began pulling boats into the ocean, which made him even madder, his face bright red as he stamped his foot in a childish manner.

"Give me a hand with this," Kay groaned, her arms shaking as they lifted the huge weight of the boat from the ground un-aided, her teeth gritted with the effort of the task. Jessie complied, moving round to the other side of the boat and gripping the base as officers began to line up in a semi-circle around the door.

"All staff, back to the longue, _now,_" a female cop yelled through a megaphone, as if the people before her simply didn't understand. Jonathan- having heard about the chase through his walkie-talkie- joined the officers, panting heavily and clutching his knees.

"I got here as fast as I could," he gasped. "What... What do we do?"

A younger cop next to him reached slowly for the gun hanging off his belt, but was quickly stopped by Jonathan, who pulled his hand back. "Whoa, whoa!" Jonathan exclaimed. "We're not trying to kill anyone!"

The young cop frowned, and shifted his hand left slightly so that it fell on the handle of his tazer, sighing in frustration when Jonathan shook his head again.

"It's too dangerous to use tazers this close to the water," Jonathan explained. "Someone could get seriously hurt, or worse."

"So what?" the cop retorted, annoyed at his superior's attitude. "If they won't listen to us, then it's their fault if they get hurt. Who cares?"

"_You'll_ care if an enquiry goes out as to why someone died from eletrocution because of a reckless cop," Jonathan growled. The officer opened his mouth to retaliate, but then closed it when his mind failed him, blushing as he cast his gaze to the ground and murmured something inaudible to himself.

"Move in!" the policewoman with the megaphone ordered as Mondo, Jessie and Kay dropped the speedboat they'd been carrying into the sea, sighing with relief as the weight was taken from them. "They're getting away!"

"Damn it," Jonathan cursed, and moved closer towards a trio of Rockets who were struggling with the weight of a speedboat. "Put it down!" he barked, to no avail. He sighed, seeing that he wasn't going to talk- or shout- them out of it, and tugged on the arm of the disguised Rocket closest to him. The man yelped as his weight was involuntarily shifted backwards, and instincivly loosened his grip on the boat. His two team mates cried out as the weight he had been carrying was divided between them, and with defeated groans, dropped the vechile onto the balcony, collapsing onto the wooden floor.

"Give it up," Jonathan advised to the man he had pulled backwards, who was now sprawled over the decking. The Rocket had dark brown hair that fell just above his chin, cold blue eyes that glared at Jonathan defiantly and a thin face etched with more lines than usual for a man of his twenty three years. While years of missions had kept him slimmer than average, he certainly didn't appear weak, the combination of rebellion in his eyes and the way he clenched his fists making him the kind of person Jonathan would usually cross the street to avoid.

"Screw you," the criminal spat, pushing himself off the ground and moving determinedly back to the speedboat. When Jonathan followed him, the Rocket spun around and threw a mighty punch that collided with the policeman's nose with a sickening crunch.

"Shit!" Jonathan swore, stumbling backwards and rasing both hands to his face. His moans muffled by his palms, he traced the now dented bridge of his nose gingerly, checking the damage. It was broken, for sure- the bone felt like it was dislodged from its usual place, and the whole section of his face that had been met by the blow throbbed with an unbelievable pain. Jonathan moved one hand away from his nose carefully, and several drops of blood fell onto the planks below him, spreading out into a small crimson pool as they hit the ground. Looking down, he saw that his palm was completely red with blood; his face hurt so much that he could barely feel the warm liquid running over his lips and falling from his chin. The Rocket who'd hit him pushed a boat onto the waves with the help of a few others, and cast a glance back at Jonathan, the hint of a smirk on his lips. Jonathan was reconsidering using his tazer when the officer with the megaphone handed him a handful of tissues.

"Thanks," he said weakly, the 'h' inaudible as he pinched his nostrils together to halt the flow of blood, ignoring the sharp pain the action sent up his nose and pressing the tissues against his bloody face.

Meanwhile, Kay, Mondo and Jessie were helping their team mates into the speedboat they'd carried into the sea, going over the recommended number of passengers by at least four people. Kay was silently battling with the throttle which refused to turn the engine on each time she pulled it back, until-after numerous attemps- the boat rumbled to life, gentle, continuous shudders sent through the vechile by the motor.

"We can't get any more people on this one!" Kay yelled over everyone's voices. "I'm gonna stay back and help the others- get moving, and use the GPS on this," she said, throwing her Poketch to Jessie, and then added at her colleagues' worried expressions: "I have a map, I'll be fine."

As soon as Kay had clambered back onto _The Albatross_, a Rocket called Joel shifted over to the driver's seat with some difficulty, since the small speedboat was packed with people. He positioned his foot over the right-hand side pedal, and gripped the cheap-feeling steering wheel with one hand, using the other to brush his long fringe out of his eyes. "Ready?" he asked, not waiting for a response before hitting the gas and letting the boat crawl forwards as it picked up speed.

"AGH!" Mondo yelped at the back of the boat, turning heads in his direction. A cop had grabbed hold of his ankle, and was pulling him back towards the cruise ship; Mondo barely held onto the speedboat, his fingers slipping and most of his body suspended above the water between the cop and his team mates.

"Someone grab him!" Joel yelled back, and about three Rockets extended arms to the teenager, grasping hold of his hands and loose folds of clothing. They yanked Mondo backwards together, the solitary cop struggling to match their combined strength in the strange game of tug-of-war. The battle was lost when Joel dipped his heel down on the pedal, causing the speedboat to surge forwards, and the officer to plunge headfirst into the waves, his grip loosening on Mondo as he fell.

"Wooo!" Joel whooped as the boat cut effortlessly through the choppy water, turning around to the surfacing cop behind them and showing him his middle finger. "Up yours, bitch!"

Mondo grinned with relief as he was pulled onto a wooden bench by his team mates, and couldn't resist but wave cheerfully to the now soaking policeman who bobbed up and down in the water in the distance. A few chants of "Team Rocket!" echoed around the boat for a while, Rockets punching the air in victory and exaggerating excitedly to each other the events that had just happened. Mondo enjoyed his moment of fame as a couple of the guys who'd helped him on board re-told the story, twisting it so that the teenager- who, had in reality been terrified- had kicked the cop heroically (or, rather, villainously) in their version of the tale.

The speedboat gained air for a few seconds everytime it skidded over a particularly big wave, spraying a fine mist of water to the sides when it landed again. Most of the other Rockets had also gotten away, sailing all around them at dangerously fast speeds, and Jessie was pleased to see Kay on board a boat behind them. Just visible in the distance was the balcony of _The Albatross _that they'd left from: cops and Team Rocket agents threw punches at each other, dramatic silhouettes in the orange sunlight. The people around Mondo cheered wildly whenever an officer fell in the water or was tackled to the floor, and booed at the police when a Rocket was outnumbered or defeated.

"Um... Problem?" Jessie coughed once the buzz of conversation had died down enough so as not to completely drown out her voice. She pointed over to the speedboats that had been left behind on the huge cruise ship- now that all of the Rockets had either escaped or been caught, the cops were concentrating on going after the boats of criminals, two or three vechiles full of officers already starting up. Jonathan had recovered enough from his broken nose to join in on the chase, and was already swinging his leg over the side of a red and black jet ski.

"Go, Gyarados!" Jonathan rasped, too weak to throw his Pokeball so opening it by hand instead. White light burst out of the capsule, and slowly faded into the colossal shape of the water dragon, blue and yellow scales lining the Pokemon's huge body. The Gyarados roared, throwing its head back to the sky and snapping its petrifying gaze to the boat Jessie was aboard. Jonathan sniffed, still pressing a tissue to his face, and the Pokemon turned to him quizzically, awaiting instruction and wondering what had happened to its trainer.

"Get them... I don't know, just do something," Jonathan said tiredly, moaning as his hand was jerked onto his broken nose by a gust of wind, the sharp pain that had started to fade returning with a vengance. The Gyarados growled softly in acknowledgement to its trainer, and then, shrieking, began to tear through the water towards the nearest speedboat, glaring at the Rockets on board.

"Oh come on!" Joel groaned, pushing down on the accelerator as much as was possible in an attempt to get away from the Pokemon, the boat jumping over a wave. "Why couldn't he have a Magikarp instead?"

Mondo supressed a giggle at the thought of a cop determinedly throwing the useless fish into battle, but fear snapped him out of it as the Gyarados gained on a speedboat close behind them, moving at an incredible speed. Rockets around him dug through their pockets desperately for water Pokemon; Joel sent out a Vapereon, which was joined by a Wartortle and a Lapras, but most of the Rockets didn't posses water types. Nearly all of them, however, had flying types (the majority being Zubats), which they released into the sky dramatically.

"Got any water or flying types, kid?" Joel asked Mondo, who was holding a single Pokeball and frowning with thought.

"Not exactly..." the boy answered, and hurled the capsule onto the ground, with a cry of: "Go!"

As the white light from the Pokeball faded, a Ditto appeared on the surface of the speedboat, blinking. "Dit?" it asked Mondo confusedly, who smiled and picked up the purple blob.

"Transform into that," Mondo told it, extending a finger to the Gyarados surging through the water. The Ditto chirped happily, excited to see some action after a life spent helping with deliveries. It began to transform, and Mondo quickly hurled it into the ocean, realising that if it turned into a Gyarados while still on the speedboat, it'd sink the whole thing.

Within moments, Ditto had transformed, and the teenage Rocket was in control of an almost exact replica of Jonathan's Gyarados, which levelled out the playing field considerably.

"Use water gun," Mondo said rather than ordered, not really used to battling. The Pokemon dived underwater with an almighty splash, disappearing from sight before resurfacing ten seconds later, only a few metres from Jonathan's Gyarados. Jonathan- who had been skimming across the waves on his newly-borrowed jet ski- raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden appearance of the second Gyarados, nearly falling off as the impact of the massive Pokemon surfacing sent large ripples through the sea. Mondo's Ditto (now in the form of Gyarados) roared as it launched a water gun at its twin, thrashing its tail around wildly. The move hit directly, but barely harmed Jonathan's Gyarados, who was considerably stronger and more experienced than Ditto, and besides that, the water attack wasn't very effective against other water types in the first place.

"Uh... Got any other moves?" Jessie asked hopefully, her heart sinking as she realised the Ditto wasn't as strong as she first thought.

"Well, it depends what moves the cop's Gyarados knows," Mondo explained, scratching the back of his head. "Water gun was just a lucky guess, but Ditto can only use the moves that the Pokemon it has transformed into has learnt."

"Oh. Right," Jessie sighed. "Which means..."

"Which means we're gonna have to wait for the cop to attack first to find out what moves it knows," Joel finished glumly. "I just hope your Pokemon can withstand a few blows."

"_Me too,_" Mondo thought, swallowing as Jonathan's Gyarados advanced on Ditto menacingly.

Chaos was steadily growing between the police and Rockets, various moves flying in all directions as water and air Pokemon alike carried out their trainer's orders. In general, the Rockets were doing a pretty decent job of keeping the cops back, distracting them by attacking with Pokemon, but Jonathan and a couple of his other colleagues who'd also taken one-person jet skis were weaving around the discord and quickly gaining on the speedboat furthest behind that was being driven by Leon- the guy who'd broken Jonathan's nose.

"Surround them!" Jonathan shouted, wincing as a fresh trickle of blood ran down his face. He gripped onto the handles of the jet ski determinedly, revving the engine, and powered forward, the idea of getting revenge at Leon driving him on.

"Are you sure we can't use guns?" the younger cop called Aaron riding to the side of Jonathan bellowed, his voice barely audible over the engines of the jet skis and the crashing waves.

"We can threaten them with 'em later," Jonathan yelled back, "but not now. We're too close to other officers, and we couldn't shoot without risking killing the Rockets, which would only result in a court case and paperwork. I don't want blood on my hands anyway."

Aaron sighed, dissapointed that he wouldn't get a chance to play with his newly-licenced toy, and leaned towards the front of his jet ski as the red needle on his speedometer steadily moved forward with trembling jerks. "_Well, this beats sitting around waiting for that boring police conference, anyway,"_ he thought, the novelty of driving across the gentle waves having still not worn off and the thoughts of making his first arrest spurring the new cop on. Unlike most of his superiors who'd grown weary of the action they'd once thirsted for and preferred quite afternoons at the station sipping coffee and filing paperwork to patrols or chases, Aaron thrived in fast- paced, dangerous environments such as the one he was in now, getting kicks out of risking his life and fighting 'bad guys'. Perhaps it was his youth, or the fact that he had only just passed his police training, but the fact was, Aaron loved violence, danger and everything that went with it. So, naturally, excitement buzzed through the young cop as he gained on the speedboat, looking a little psychopathic as a satisfied grin spread across his face.

"Pull over, and no one gets hurt!" Jonathan told the boatful of Rockets, who ignored him. Jonathan's Gyarados had gotten past Mondo's, and, shooting down enemy Pokemon with various attacks as it moved, was advancing towards its trainer for further instruction.

"Do something, kid!" Joel said franticly to Mondo, some of his best friends from Team Rocket on the boat that was under attack from the police.

"Let's see," Mondo muttered desperately to himself, his brow furrowed in concentration. "It knows Bite, Water Gun, Hydro Pump, and..." he trailed off as he failed to remember the fourth move, counting the attacks on his hand. Mondo snapped his fingers triumphantly, oblivious to the odd stares he was getting. "Take Down- that was it!"

"Great," Jessie replied, not sounding too enthusiastic as she watched the cops close in on her team mates. "Think you can put that knowledge to use?"

"Uh, right," Mondo said, beckoning over Ditto, who was busy ducking from a wing attack. "Get out of sight, Ditto, and then use Bite attack!"

"Gyyaaarr!" the Pokemon growled in repsonse, before plunging beneath the smooth surface of the water, its tail lagging behind slightly. The Rockets held their breath with crossed fingers as they waited for Mondo's Pokemon to re-appear, the seconds that passed dragging out longer than seemed possible.

"Get round to the front of their boat!" Jonathan instucted to his colleagues, hoping to force the fugitives into stopping by slowing down in front of them. As Aaron and Gyarados did so, Mondo's Ditto launched itself out of the water, taking Jonathan by surprise and pushing him back slightly. Ditto used Bite on Jonathan's Gyarados; the attack usually wouldn't have done too much damage, but the Gyarados didn't have time to brace or counter and was sent flying backwards. Leon- who was driving the speedboat that was being targeted by the police- saw his chance and pushed down on the accelerator, swerving past the Gyarados with a triumpant yell.

"Damn it!" Jonathan cursed, pounding his fist down on the front of his jet ski with frustration as the speedboat slipped away. "We've gotta do something, and fast!"


End file.
